The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-06-19
A New and Successful Device for Rails
ing Money for Charitable Purposes.
Banker Seligman Departs from Business
Methods and Pays Cash for Something lie
Hasn't Seen and Knows Nothing About.
How Girls at the Baseball Matches
Keep Score and Enjoy Themselves.
Their Trips to the Adirondacks-Young
HoOdlums of the Messenger Service.

special 10 the Indianapolis Journal,
NEW York. June l8-When high life wishes
to disport itself at home and all ordinary means
are exhausted. it finds way by ipsttuting
fair in Aid of charity. Such an event, and sue
cessful one of its kind. both financially and So
cinlly, occurred this week at one of the away up
town mansions, where the city has not eaten up
the lawns with hotels and apartment houses.
Fancy articles sold in booths under the
trees, refreshment tables scattered invit-
ingiy about on the grass and catch-penny games
abounded everywhere. One of the most attract
i've features of the event was sale OF veiled
statuary. Dark cambric curtains shut off
portion of the long veranda, and when they
were drawn aside seven figures wrapped in white
sheets and completely masked were exposed.
The gentleman who played tho auctioneer was
clad in his dress suit. and it surprising fact
that several other gentlemen present were in
full evening dress in spite of the fact that the en-
tertainment was expected to come TO an end at
about sundown. The auctioneer, with more or
less successful attempts at humor, described the
statues as representations of the classic goddess
es and offered them for sale one after another
Bidding on the first began at one dollar and
mounted rapidly by dollar jumps. up to nine
then by half dollar bids to eleven, at which price
it VAS knocked down. The gentleman making
the purchase paid his money and received a tick
ct with a number corresponding to the card held
in the hand of the statue. The next statue
brought only SIX dollars. After that none sold
for less than ten.
Rich Banker Seligman stood on the veranda
steps watching the transactions with amused
sdbile When No. was put up he started the
bidding with loud five dollars. Somebody i'm
mediately bid six, and Mr. Seligman followed
with determined ten, as if by that means to
shut off further bidding. bu. two others, without
any pause whatever, carried the figure mp to
thirteen, and before the banker could
from his surprise it was knocked down. The re-
snlt was that when No. was put up Mr.. Selig-
man bid ten, and when. after a moment, some
body ventured bid OF eleven. he exclaimed
fifteen. No competed with him at that fig
uro and he secured the ticket. When it was all
over the purchasers were requested to come up
and remove their property. The man who had
been so anxious tc get No ), found that it
nothing but broom dressed mp with sheet and
a mask, and Mr. Seligman turned pale. But he
correspondngly rejoiced TO find that in
escaping the dummy he had secured one of the
bandsomest young ladies of the day, and the
quantity of Strawberries and cream, aud the
great joy would bear mentioning No 5
was the only dummy. and money poured freely
into the treasury Golfers from the pockets of the
purchasers. for it was part of the duties of tho
statues to insist on being treated.
A striking amusement was conducted by a
handsome girl 1t was called Aunt Sally and
the fun aud money lay in throwing clubs at the
wooden face of old woman stuck on the end
of "A ST a 0f aho ffoa foat
Ten clubs for 10 cents. and the person breaking
the greatest number of clay pipes thrust into
Aunt Sallys nose during the afternoon was enti-
tied TO big box of candy. Every young and
every gallant old man was led up to the sacrifice
and made to expend his money IN the vain at
tempt to secure for his fayorite lady the prize
box. 1t proved no easy task break pipe
Men and women both tredit The club would
be swung with the utmost appearance of accu-
racy, and thrown with great determination only
to fall several feet short of its mark, to go
flying away aboveit. The young man who got
the prize did SO on record Of nine pipes broken,
and to do so much he had to spend nearly Eve
dollars.in clubs, more than twice much the
candy would have cost him at store. But he
had his fun, and the spectators had more of it.
More girls have the base ball craze this season
Polo grounds there have been upward of fifteen
hundred in attendance. They make the grand
stand picturesque with their colored sun-shades
and bright gowns. and nearly all of them dis
play an active interest in the game. OF course
there are here and there in the crowd ladies who
do'uot understand the game; they are the wives,
sisters sweethearts of men who sacrifice busl-
ness and the privileges of q vacation to the
game remember seeing. in one case at least,
an enthusiast who had brought his mother to the
grounds to see the game he much admired
and with splendid patience he explained the va
rious points in the play as they occurred in
formed her when she ought to be pleased. tau ,ht
her to despise the umpire, and actually came
near making the old lady believe that she was
enjoying herself. But most of the girls
who attend the game do SO from choice, and
know several who can keep Ineligible score
They are constant in their attendance, and when
ever one of them misses a game she borrows
friends score card in order to make MP from it
her record. went down to the St. George
grounds on Staten Island to game On the
same boat among other girls, were two who
on the Same errard. One was with an es-
corr. and instead Of having been induced to go
the game by him. it was she who had done the
persuading The other girl WAS alone. She
wore a narrow trimmed straw hat. and plain
blue dress She looked as trim as the typical
yacht woman. and her face preserved thought
distant grand stand. / had tho good fortune to
sit jast back of them while the game was in prog
ress. The one with the escort wanted to keep
score, but he pleaded with her in low voice
not to do So as il he saw anything unladylike in
such course. She pouted protested and
yielded. The other, in a business-like way took
out neatly bound book with season of 1887"
in gilt letters the cover and proceeded TO copy
fhe names of the players in the order of their
coming to bat from the official card sold by the
ushers She watched the play throughout with
hardly a motion other than was required for the
propelling of her stylographc pen she
corded the various plays. The gentleman who
played the urapire was very unpopular and the
crowd booted him derisively many times. Once
when one of his rulings was unusually dis
agreeable to the partsans of the home club and
1t seemed as if every mar of the six thousand
present was either hooting, groaning or kissing.
the young lady scorer shut her lips tightly to-
gether. sternly closed her book, with the pen be-
tween the leaves. laid it on her lap, folded her